British academics have used geographic profiling in a study that backs up a theory about the identity of mysterious street artist Banksy, the authors said on Friday.
Scientists at Queen Mary University of London said in a study published in the Journal of Spatial Science that the pattern of how Banksy’s artworks were distributed suggested he is artist Robin Gunningham.
Gunningham was first named as Banksy by the Daily Mail newspaper in 2008.
Photo: AP
Banksy’s often politically themed street art has made him a celebrity in Britain, despite his true identity never having been confirmed.
His most high-profile recent project was painted in the southwest England town of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset and called Dismaland, which last year mocked the conventions of amusement parks.
Geographic profiling is a technique used in fields from criminology to studying patterns of infectious disease.
The study analyzed a series of locations of Banksy’s artworks in London and Bristol and mapped them against “anchor points,” such as the homes of people suspected of being Banksy, to draw conclusions about possible identity.
“Our analysis highlights areas associated with one prominent candidate, supporting his identification as Banksy,” the study said.
“More broadly, these results support previous suggestions that analysis of minor terrorism-related acts [eg graffiti] could be used to help locate terrorist bases before more serious incidents occur, and provides a fascinating example of the application of the model to a complex, real-world problem,” it added.
One of the research team, Steve Le Comber, told the BBC: “I’d be surprised if it’s not [Gunningham], even without our analysis, but it’s interesting that the analysis offers additional support for it.”
The BBC also reported that Banksy’s legal team had contacted staff at the university with concerns about how the research was to be promoted.
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